LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Sept. 27, 2010)Two important deadlines for the upcoming 2010 Gubernatorial General Election are approaching. The deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation and the deadline for certain voters to request a polling place change for this election is 9:00 pm on Tuesday, October 12.

To vote in the upcoming general election, Maryland residents who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered must complete a voter registration application and either hand-deliver or mail the application to the St. Mary's County Board of Elections. A hand-delivered application must be received by this office by 9:00 pm on October 12, 2010, and a mailed application must be postmarked by October 12, 2010. This is also the deadline for registered voters who have moved since the last election to provide updated address information to the local county Board of Elections and for registered voters who wish to change their party affiliation.

Voter registration applications are available at the following locations:

Most of Maryland's polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities. An elderly voter or a voter with a disability who is assigned to an inaccessible polling place may request reassignment to an accessible polling place. This request must be submitted in writing by 9:00 pm on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. The form to request reassignment is available at www.elections.state.md.us (type "polling place reassignment" in the Search field). On receipt of a timely request, the local Board of Elections will determine whether there is an accessible polling place with the same ballot as the voter's home precinct and notify the voter of the status of his or her request.

On the State Board of Elections' website, a voter can verify his or her voter registration status and find out if the polling place to which he or she has been assigned is accessible. To find this information, a voter can visit www.elections.state.md.us and click on the "Find Out Here" link.

The 2010 Gubernatorial General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 2. Starting the 2nd Friday before the election through the Thursday before the election, voters can vote in person at the designated early voting center(s) in their county of residence. Early voting locations and hours and additional election-related dates and information are available at www.elections.state.md.us.